Extradition to India—Samira Jumani

Interpol has issued a red notice for Samira Jumani, who is the first wife of “underworld don” Abu Salem.^[1] Ms. Jumani is believed to be located in the United States.^[2] Abu Salem is India’s second-most wanted man, and he has more than 50 criminal cases pending against him “including the murder of music baron Gulshan Kumar in 1997, assault on filmmakers Rajeev Rai and Subhash Ghai in 1997, murder of Chembur builder Om Prakash Kukreja in 1995, murder of builder Pradeep Jain in 1994 and extortion threats to many film personalities.”^[3]

Mr. Salem was extradited from Portugal to India on November 11, 2005, and India seems to be enraptured with the case, but the coverage of it is confusing. Some papers say that he played a large role in a Mumbai serial bombing in 1993.^[4] Others say that he was “inconsequential” and that he knows nothing “substantial.”^[5] And it seems that he is not as plugged in to Mumbai’s criminal underworld as previously believed, which means that India’s Central Bureau of Investigation is taking information from Mr. Salem “with a pinch of salt.”^[6]

In any case, it is Ms. Jumani whose extradition is requested because Indian authorities believe she may be privy to secrets about the Mumbai bombing.^[7] She has a criminal history of her own, being arrested in 1997 for procuring a forged passport in 1993 from Lucknow in the name of Sabina Azmi.^[8] The red notice mentions that the offenses for which she is wanted are “Criminal conspiracy, fraud and dishonestly induced delivery of property, forgery, used forged document as genuine.”^[9]

Under the extradition treaty between India and the United States, an offense will be considered extraditable “if it is punishable under the laws in both Contracting States by deprivation of liberty…for a period of more than one year.”^[10] The offenses for which Ms. Jumani is sought are clearly crimes in both countries. It will be interesting to see how the United States treats the request if Ms. Jumani is found here. Under the Rule of Specialty, a person can be detained, tried, or punished only for “the offense for which extradition has been granted or a differently denominated offense based on the same facts on which extradition was granted, provided such offense is extraditable or is a lesser included offense.”^[11]

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[1] Interpol Alert for Salem’s Ex-Wife Samira, Rediff.com, Nov. 17, 2005, available here. See also Central Bureau of Investigation, Wanted by Interpol: Jumani Samira, Last Visited Nov. 18, 2005, available here [hereinafter Red Notice].
[2] India Seeks Extradition of Salems [sic] First Wife from US, WebIndia123.com, Nov. 17, 2005, available here.
[3] Id.
[4] See S. Balakrishnan, Salem Played it Big During Mumbai Blasts, Times of India, Nov. 16, 2005, available here.
[5] See Sheela Bhatt, Salem Inconsequential to Mumbai Blasts Case, Rediff Special, Nov. 17, 2005, available here.
[6] Anupam Dasgupta et al., Salem is Out of Sync with Mumbai’s Underworld: CBI, Daily News & Analysis, Nov. 17, 2005, available here.
[7] Salem’s Secrets: First Wife Holds the Magic Key, Times of India, Nov. 17, 2005, available here.
[8] Id.
[9] See Red Notice, supra note 1.
[10] Extradition Treaty, June 25, 1997, U.S.-India, art. 2, para. 1, S. Treaty Doc. 105-30 (1999).
[11] Id. art. 17, para. 1(a).